X is for xu

        The letter "x" challenge took an unexpected twist for me today... I am a nightly "words with friends" player. I currently have about 15 games going. It's a great way to unwind at the end of a long day with something I love to associate with - words! I have often been using the word "xu" when I am in a predicament with my letter x sitting in my letter bank. I use it all the time! To think that all these times I have used this precious little word to get me out of a bind and land my x on a triple letter square (24 points), and I knew nothing about what this word meant. Today, I was going to find out. 

    Okay, so some of you smarty pants out there may already have known what the word "xu" meant, well I didn't.

    Xu is a coin formerly minted by South Vietnam equivalent to one cent (now little seen or used), forming a hundredth of a dong. 

   The dong is the currency of Vietnam

                  And there you have it - this blog has been brought to you by the "letter "x"

        

W is for Winter time

     Because of Covid, we didn’t do any traveling, but we are fortunate to have a home in Incline Village, Nevada - so that's where we went when we felt the need to “get away.” My husband is an expert skier so winter time means many ski days for him. I enjoy skiing too, but not at his level. I’m a content little intermediate skier. I just enjoy the view on the way down the mountain.

     I appreciate the cozy winter days spent in Lake Tahoe this year.

                                      Northstar Ski Resort, Lake Tahoe in the distance

                                                               home away from home

                                              My husband - he helicopter skis too 🚁

        

V is for vaccine

    Who would have thought that I would be getting vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus because of a global pandemic. I remember when the first cases were reported in the United States. Never, did I think the next 12 months would be that of quarantine, face masks and hand sanitizer. 

    Where I live in Santa Cruz County, we are in the red tier and headed for the orange (fingers crossed). Thankfully, my family has remained healthy. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones to the virus and who have suffered with the illness. Some are dealing with the long term respiratory damage and other side affects from contracting the virus.

    This day and age of technology through Zoom and email has allowed many to continue working from home. I have never spent so much time at home and quite frankly am loving it. We were starting to travel a bit pre-pandemic and though traveling is fun, I don’t miss the hustle and bustle of it. I’m a home body at heart. 

    Life as we knew it before Corona is presenting itself again.

    Hopefully, our take away from this human experience is gratitude.

    

    

U is for umbrella

                                                         vintage smiley face umbrella

    I was about 9 or 10 years old when I was blessed with this umbrella. With the rainy season approaching, I had hoped that with my birthday in October and Christmas in December, that I could have the one thing in the whole world that I so badly wanted - a smiley face umbrella. I must have seen it in the toy section of the Sears catalog or perhaps advertised on TV. All I knew was that I wanted it! I would dream of the day I could glide through the school yard one morning with my smiley face umbrella, for all to see,  protecting me from the rain; the world! 

    Well, the day came and I cannot honestly remember whether I got it for my birthday or Christmas, but this umbrella was gifted to me. Then, I prayed for rain. The rain finally came. On that morning, from the back seat of my mom's car, I opened the door and carefully stepped out, popped open my smiley face umbrella and I would continue to promenade through the school yard of St. Mary's School and enter my classroom. My life was complete. 

    That's all it took... an umbrella with a bright yellow handle.

    My, how times have changed. The memory of this season in my life, takes me back to a much simpler time.

    

    

T is for the three amigos...

 

                                                                     the three amigos

    

       Here is a picture of my first three born: Aaron, Daniel and Joseph (Joey). It's one of my favorites. They look like little gangsters or renegades. They kept me on my toes, but they're really good kids and were a blast to raise. It's an honor being their mom. 

    This was taken during Aaron's first year of college at California State University at Monterey Bay. Daniel and Joey were in high school. This was taken on a spur of at the moment trip to Disneyland. We called Aaron at his dorm on Friday morning, told him to throw some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag; "we're going to Disneyland!" and we were out the door with the rest of the family by late Friday afternoon. The eight of us piled up in the suburban, bigger kids with their headphones on and a bag of snacks in hand for the younger ones on and we were off.

    We had a great time. We stayed at the Embassy Suites (best place for large families), not far from the park. We especially love their happy hour snacks (unlimited popcorn and pretzels) and drinks. We ventured over to California Adventure Park after a day at Disneyland. That was probably the last time we went on a trip as a family.

    Aaron transferred and graduated from University of Nevada Reno, Daniel is in the construction business (like his dad) and Joey earned a degree in microbiology at San Francisco State. Aaron is marketing online and Joey is my little surfer-scientist, working for a bio-tech company. 

    Love these guys. I think I'll give them a call today 🖤🤍🖤

S is for "Sara" by Fleetwood Mac

 

    I consider Stevie Nicks to be a part of my life growing up. There is a lot of music in my family. With a brother 14 years older than me, who was a drummer and a sister 10 years older than me who was a Beatles fanatic - I grew up listening to and absorbing music.     

    My sister turned me on to Fleetwood Mac, before Stevie had arrived. I loved their sound and when Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham came on board...it was magic. I've seen Fleetwood Mac in concert 3 or 4 times. When Stevie broke away from Fleetwood Mac and went solo, I continued to follow her music.  Bella donna was probably my favorite solo album of hers. I saw her as a solo artist in concert several times also. All were phenomenal shows.

    Fleetwood Mac is my favorite band of all time and Stevie Nicks my favorite female artist. This is the official video for "Sara."

    "Sara" is written by singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks and a single from the 1979 Tusk album. She states this was a very personal song for her; a combination of things that were going on in her life.

                                  "....and when you build your house, call me home."

R is for Rocky and Rosie

 

                                                                Rocky and Rosie

    I had six kids and two of them in diapers. I'm at home and my husband calls me and says, "hey, you gotta' come down to Pet Pals and see these Boston Terrier puppies." I am thinking - "you've got to be kidding me." All I need is a puppy to potty train and clean up after. Those were my first thoughts instead of thinking about the joy a dog could bring to our home.

    I pulled the double stroller out of the suburban, put my two little ones in it and went into the pet store. There was a puppy play pen with half a dozen baby Boston Terriers scampering about. "oh my goodness, I thought." This was a play pen full of black and white adorableness! After observing for several minutes, we noticed this one little guy who kept picking on his brothers and sisters...harassing everybody. He was a gangster alright and he was the one for us. After the paperwork (and writing a check), he went into the stroller with my other two babies, and back to the house we went. Well, now I had 3 in diapers (so to speak).

    Rocky was a gem. He was house trained in three days. Yes, three. He was just the cutest little thing. He indeed brought joy to our home. He was our family pet 🖤. A few years later, we decided Rocky needed a friend. At the time, we were living in Carmel Valley. We contacted a Boston Terrier breeder from Santa Cruz, who agreed to bring a litter of pups for us to choose from. He brought a group of 6 or 7 pups into our back yard for us to observe. They were running around playing and having a blast. We noticed the smallest pup that didn't seem to mesh with the rest of the gang. She was just off to the side sitting by herself. Naturally, we were drawn to her. We held her and kept her. We named her Rosie. She didn't house train in 3 days. It seemed more like three years. She had more of a nervous and shy temperament, whereas Rocky was a "ready to go party" kind of guy. They got along beautifully.

    Rosie is now 15 years old and sadly, Rocky passed last year. He died a natural death. In the end - one early morning, he was in far too much pain. We called the vet to immediately bring him in so he wouldn't have to hurt anymore. He took his last breath in my husband's arms as he lifted Rocky out of the jeep to take him inside. This is the hardest part about having a pet.

 There is no way to measure their gift of friendship and unconditional love they give.

                                                                 Rocky in his prime